Saturday, December 22, 2012

Auto-Pilot Toward the Fiscal Cliff

Auto-Pilot Toward the Fiscal Cliff

With the
failure of “Plan B” in the House
last night, it appears very likely that the “fiscal cliff” is going to arrive.
Of course, the mainstream media is blaming Tea Party-minded
(read: principled) Congressmen
for not supporting the plan.

This is
outrageous, and an insult to the American people. Yes, principled Members of
Congress held the line on tax hikes. Yes, Speaker Boehner has been awful in
negotiating an alternative to the “fiscal cliff." But in the end, blame lies
almost exclusively on the backs of two people: President Obama and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV).

Consider that
even before details of “Plan B” had been released, President Obama and Senator
Reid had already declared the legislation dead. The Senate departed Washington
until after Christmas, and President Obama went on vacation, leaving the nation
on auto-pilot as we speed toward the fiscal cliff. Apparently, kicking the
proverbial can down the road is more important than actually doing the jobs for
which both men were elected. Apparently, the ideology of raising taxes is more
important than actually solving the spending problem that Washington
has.

Because of
their lack of leadership, America is likely to go over the fiscal cliff. Yet
looking at the facts, it’s clear that raising taxes and not cutting spending
really is the problem:

A major study has found that the combination of expiring tax cuts and the
implementation of ObamaCare will cost the country 710,000 jobs.

Imposing a 100% tax on all households earning more than $250,000 – the “wealthy,” according
to the President and Senator Reid – would keep Washington running for only 190
days according to Walter E. Williams.

Cutting taxes in a time of economic stagnation
would help boost the economy, boost employment, and increase revenue to the
federal government to reduce the deficit.

Many in the media and Washington will try to accuse the Tea Party of causing
the dive over the “fiscal cliff.” Yet, we have outlined over the last 12 days, 12 solutions
that would be a positive step in the right direction. It is time for Washington
to stop avoiding their responsibilities, as they seem to have done here by
leaving the country speeding on auto-pilot toward the fiscal cliff.

Those conservatives, by name (an asterisk denoting those who will not be returning to Congress next year) are:

Justin Amash of MIPaul Broun of GATrent Franks of AZLouie Gohmert of TXTim Huelskamp of KSWalter Jones of NCJim Jordan of OHAndy Harris of MDJeff Landry of LA*Thomas Massie of KYRon Paul of TX*Jean Schmidt of OH*Joe Walsh of IL*

Let’s not forget here that in terms of pressure, a great deal of it was coming from the GOP House Leadership. Congressmen Amash, Huelskamp, and Jones were removed from their committee assignments for not cooperating with the Leadership.